This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at Islah: Dava Dilekçesini Sonradan Düzeltmek.
Amendment is a party's correction, in whole or in part, of the procedural steps they have taken (Article 176 of the Code of Civil Procedure) — and it may be used once only. It remains available until the investigation stage closes. Its commonest use is to increase the relief sought after an expert report. A plea of limitation may be raised against the part added by amendment, and that is the greatest risk in practice.
You brought a claim for a debt. You put the value at “50,000 lira for the present”, because only an expert's calculation would show the real figure. The report came back at 180,000. How do you now claim the rest?
The answer is amendment: a party's correction, in whole or in part, of a procedural step. Its commonest use is to increase the relief sought — above all in employment and compensation claims.
What Amendment Is
Article 176 allows the parties to amend the procedural steps they have taken, in whole or in part. By amendment the relief sought can be changed, something omitted can be supplied, and a claim wrongly framed can be corrected.
What amendment cannot do matters just as much:
- It cannot change a party. A claim brought against the wrong person cannot be redirected by amendment; apart from the exception for a clerical error, a fresh claim is required.
- It does not remove rights the other side has already acquired.
- It cannot turn the case into an entirely different one.
Amendment is the exception to the bar on extending the claim or the defence. Once the stage of written pleadings has closed, no new fact may as a rule be raised; amendment opens that door once.
How Long It Remains Available
Amendment is possible until the investigation stage ends (Article 177). The investigation stage is where evidence is gathered and examined; once the case moves to oral proceedings, amendment is no longer available.
So you must act as soon as the expert report arrives. Reports come towards the end of the investigation stage, and the time left to increase the claim is often short.
Amendment is as a rule not available on appeal, although the Code contains a limited provision allowing it in defined cases before the regional court of appeal. That is an exceptional route.
| Question | The rule |
|---|---|
| How many times | Once only |
| Until when | Until the investigation stage ends |
| Scope | Procedural steps other than the constitution of the parties |
| Limitation on the part added | The other side may raise a plea of limitation |
| Fee | Topped up on the increased amount |
| What cannot be amended | A party cannot be changed by amendment |
| The alternative | A single increase in a partial claim under Article 109/4 |
The way to meet the limitation risk, where the conditions allow, is to bring a partial claim and make the single increase under Article 109/4; limitation is then treated as interrupted at the date of the claim.
Once, and Once Only
The right to amend may be used only once in the same case (Article 176/2). That is the feature that costs parties the most.
Suppose you increased your claim to 180,000 lira on the strength of the expert report. A supplementary report then puts the figure at 240,000. Because you have already used your amendment, you cannot claim the difference.
The practice, therefore, is to use amendment when the calculation is settled: if the report is challenged, wait for the outcome; if a supplementary report is coming, see it first. An amendment used early does not come back.
When the amendment is filed, the court fee must be topped up on the increase. Without the fee the amendment has no effect; the court allows a period for it, and that period is peremptory.
The Limitation Risk
This is the most contested aspect of amendment, and the one that loses the most rights. The other side may raise a plea of limitation against the part added by amendment.
The reasoning is this: when a claim is brought, limitation is interrupted only for the amount claimed. For the part added later, limitation is treated as having continued to run until the date of the amendment. On an employment claim that accrued five years ago, bringing a partial claim and amending late can leave the added part time-barred.
What changed in 2026. Act no. 7589, in force from 31 July 2026, repealed the claim for an indeterminate sum (Article 107) and added a fourth paragraph to Article 109. Under the new provision, in a partial claim the amount claimed may be increased once, in the same proceedings, until the investigation stage ends — and for the part added, limitation is treated as interrupted at the date of the claim. Where the sum cannot be fixed at the outset, the limitation risk is now met this way rather than through a claim for an indeterminate sum.
That does not make amendment redundant. Article 109/4 increases the amount of the same debt; adding a new and separate head of claim, or curing some other defect in the pleading, is still done by amendment. Getting that distinction right is what determines which right you use, and when.
Transitional rule: claims for an indeterminate sum brought before 31 July 2026 continue to be governed by the former provisions. If you have a case on foot, its date decides which regime applies.
Do not amend until you are sure the calculation is settled: an amendment used early does not come back, and the difference thrown up by a supplementary report can no longer be claimed. And remember to top up the fee on the increase — an amendment without the fee has no effect.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can I amend?
Until the investigation stage ends (Article 177). Once the case moves to oral proceedings amendment is not available, and on appeal it is as a rule impossible.
How many times can I amend?
Once only in the same case (Article 176/2) — which is why the amendment should be used when the calculation is settled.
Can I change the defendant by amendment?
No. A party cannot be changed by amendment; apart from the exception for a clerical error, a fresh claim must be brought.
Can the part added by amendment be time-barred?
Yes. The other side may plead limitation against it. In a partial claim, by contrast, the single increase under Article 109/4 carries interruption of limitation from the date of the claim.
Is there a fee for an amendment?
Yes. The fee is topped up on the increased amount, and without it the amendment has no effect.